Information
Document
31/2012
30th May2012
Blanca Palacián de Inza
Visit the
WEBSITE
Chicago NATO Summit: OPEN
DOOR POLICY
Receive ELECTRONIC
BULLETIN
This document has been translated by a Translation and Interpreting Degree student doing work experience, CORAL GUTIÉRREZ, under the
auspices of the Collaboration Agreement between the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid, and the Spanish Institute of Strategic
Studies.
Chicago NATO Summit: OPEN DOOR POLICY
Abstract:
Chicago NATO Summit held on May 20-21 was not an enlargement summit but the Alliance
was fully supportive, as it was in 2008, of the efforts of Georgia, Macedonia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and Montenegro to become members of NATO.
Keywords:
NATO, Chicago Summit, Georgia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, MAP.
Information Document
31/2012
1
Chicago NATO Summit: OPEN DOOR POLICY
Blanca Palacián de Inza
At the Chicago NATO Summit there has been reiteration for the support already provided in
2008 for the processes of accession of Georgia, Macedonia (FYROM1), Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Montenegro into the Alliance.
The support for these four candidates was expressed in the Declaration of the Heads of State
and Government on 10 May and in the statements of the US Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton, during the meeting of NATO foreign ministers with their counterparts in Macedonia,
Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Georgia. Hillary Clinton called these candidates “active
allies” and welcomed the efforts made in order to fulfill the requirements and applauded the
support provided, particularly by Georgia, for the International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) in Afghanistan.
This open door policy has its origin and basis in the Washington Treaty, which states that
democratic European countries will be welcomed into the Alliance if they meet certain
conditions:
Article 10 - The Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other European
State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of
the North Atlantic area to accede to this Treaty. Any State so invited may become a Party to
the Treaty by depositing its instrument of accession with the Government of the United
States of America. The Government of the United States of America will inform each of the
Parties of the deposit of each such instrument of accession. (The North Atlantic Treaty,
Washington D.C., 4 April 1949)
Since 1949, the number of NATO member countries has increased from 12 to 28 through six
enlargement processes in 1952, 1955, 1982, 1999, 2004 and 2009. The latest additions were
Albania and Croatia, which were invited to join the Alliance in 2008, at the Bucharest
Summit, and their accession process formally finished on 1 April 2009.
In the Study of NATO Enlargement of 1995 it is stated that “there is no fixed or rigid list of
criteria for inviting new member states to join the Alliance2”. However, in that same study
some minimum requirements are established:
-
A democratic system based on market economy
-
Respect for the rights of minorities
1
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Study on NATO Enlargement issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the
North Atlantic Council, (Brussels, 3 September 1995), chapter 1.
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_24733.htm
2
Information Document
31/2012
2
Chicago NATO Summit: OPEN DOOR POLICY
Blanca Palacián de Inza
-
A commitment to peaceful conflict resolution
-
The ability and willingness to participate militarily in NATO operations
Those countries that declare an interest in joining NATO are invited to participate in an
Intensified Dialogue with the Alliance on their aspirations and the reforms they are willing to
make in order to achieve eligibility for membership.
Once this first phase is completed, the candidate countries are invited to join the
Membership Action Plan (MAP), which is the last membership stage that usually precedes
the accession.
The numerous decisions that were taken regarding the NATO enlargement at Bucharest
Summit of April 2008 were also addressed at this Chicago Summit.
FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
The accession process of Macedonia into NATO has not made any progress between the
Bucharest Summit and the Chicago Summit. In both summits its accession into the Alliance
was subject to the solution of its denomination issue.
Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia since it is also the name of an historical Greek
region. Greece fears that the use of this name by its neighbouring country will lead to
territorial claims towards the region with the same name. After a commitment reached by
both parties in 1993, they provisionally accepted the use of the term Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). To the date, this terminology conflict has caused the
rejection of Macedonia’s accession into NATO and into the EU (to which it has been a
candidate country since 2005). After the failure at the New York meeting, under the UN
auspices, which was celebrated in order to find a solution to this issue last January 2012, it
seems difficult to put an end to this problem and, therefore, to complete the accession
process of Macedonia into the Alliance.
MONTENEGRO
At the Bucharest Summit, Montenegro was invited to start the Intensified Dialogue. In
December 2009 Montenegro entered the second phase: the MAP. At this Chicago Summit
the commitment to the MAP, the political, economic and defence reforms carried out, its
contribution to security in the Balkan region and its participation in ISAF have been
welcomed.
Information Document
31/2012
3
Chicago NATO Summit: OPEN DOOR POLICY
Blanca Palacián de Inza
Out of the four candidates discussed in this declaration, Montenegro is the only country with
a clear prospect of early accession into NATO.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
After democratizing its defence structures and collaborating with the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina started the Intensified Dialogue
(2008) and it joined the MAP in April 2010. However, its accession is subject to the
registration of all the properties that the Bosnian Government considers necessary for
national defence in the name of the Ministry of Defence. At the Chicago Summit it has been
acknowledged the significant progress made in the agreement reached in March 2012 with
regard to the issue of properties and state assignment, but the practical implementation has
not been carried out yet, which is an essential step for the country to start the MAP and
become a member of the Alliance.
GEORGIA
With regard to Georgia, at the Bucharest Summit it was agreed, after beginning the
Intensified Dialogue, just like Ukraine, that “they would become members one day”. In
December 2008, Allied foreign ministers decided to increase the support provided to these
two countries through two existing cooperation frameworks, the NATO-Georgia Commission
and the NATO-UKRAINE Commission, without excluding future access to the MAP.
Regarding Georgia, at the Chicago Summit the desire to let the country become a member of
the Alliance has been reaffirmed and it is encouraged to continue with the ongoing reforms.
It has been stressed that the elections of 2012 and 2013 need to be free and fair and special
thanks for its generous contribution to the ISAF have been expressed.
The support for Georgia’s territorial integrity has been reiterated and Russia has been asked
to retract its recognition of the independence of Georgian regions of South Ossetia an
Abkhazia.
CONCLUSIONS
With regard to the enlargement of the Alliance, at this Chicago Summit there have
been many kind words but very little action. The progress made is not significant. Of the four
candidates for NATO membership, Montenegro is the candidate which seems most likely to
be next. Macedonia still has to deal with the issue of its denomination, as bitter as it is
irrelevant to the majority of the members, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, just like Georgia,
still has to carry out the Membership Action Plan, which means that it has not yet
Information Document
31/2012
4
Chicago NATO Summit: OPEN DOOR POLICY
Blanca Palacián de Inza
implemented the reforms and fulfilled the requirements needed to become a member state.
Blanca Palacián de Inza
IEEE Analyst
Information Document
31/2012
5